RICHMOND, Ind. – Earlham College women's basketball captured its first post-season berth in nearly a decade with a 63-35 rout of visiting Mount St. Joseph University, in a Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference clash Saturday at the Druley Performance Gym.
Earlham's win in the regular season finale allowed the Quakers to wrap up the HCAC slate with a 7-11 record, 7-18 overall, and secure the no. 5 seed for next week's HCAC Women's Basketball Tournament.
The Quakers will be making their first post-season appearance since the 2007-08 season, when Earlham earned the no. 8 seed in the North Coast Athletic Conference Women's Basketball Tournament and face top-seeded Kenyon College in the quarterfinals.
Sophomore Camryn White paced the Quakers with 17 points, leading a trio of Earlham players in double figures. Sophomore Zoe Curtis finished with 15 points and nine rebounds, while sophomore Kyndall Spears tallied 10 points.
White also dished out a game-high six assists to aid the Quaker cause.
Those point totals reflected a box score that was decidedly in Earlham's favor, as the Quakers outmanned, outworked, and outshot Mount St. Joseph everywhere on the floor.
Earlham shot 42.4 percent (28-of-66) from the field, while holding Mount St. Joseph to an anemic 20.8 percent (11-of-53) shooting clip.
On the glass, the Quakers outrebounded the Lions, 59 to 27 – Earlham's best single game rebounding tally this season – including a 20 to eight superiority in offensive boards that led to a 12-2 advantage in second-chance points.
Mount St. Joseph (10-5 overall, 6-12 Heartland) was led by Alehia Tucker with 13 points, while Brooklyn Sturwold chipped in with seven. Lainee Studer had a team-high nine rebounds to go with six points.
Fifth-seeded Earlham women's basketball will face the HCAC Tournament fourth seed, Hanover College, on Tuesday, Feb. 20, at Collier Arena in Hanover, Ind. Tip-off is scheduled for 8:00 p.m.
For more information about Earlham women's basketball, visit the online home of Earlham College athletics at www.GoEarlham.com. Fans can also stay up-to-date on the latest Earlham athletics news by following Earlham Quakers on Facebook (Earlham Quakers Athletics), Twitter (@EarlhamQuakers), and Instagram (EarlhamQuakers).